Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway was left disappointed with his team’s performance against relegation candidates Bristol City, but admitted the three points were all that matters.

Palace ran out 2-1 winners as Glenn Murray scored his 28th goal of the season before Stephen Dobbie opened his account with a curling free-kick – leaving Palace fourth and well cemented in the Championship play offs.

However, although Dobbie’s strike turned out to be the winner, Jonathan Parr put through his own net in the dying embers of the match to take the gloss of a one-sided affair.

Holloway said: “I wasn’t as excited as I was on Saturday as I don’t think the performance reached those levels, but we almost didn’t need too.

“When we are in front we have this tendency to kill a game off but I would rather go for a third or fourth.

“I thought that it was a tough fixture but we have come through it, not quite with flying colours but it’s another win.”

The opening goal came when Murray, the country’s leading goalscorer, latched onto a perfectly weighted pass over the top by Mile Jedinak to convert with a one-touch finish.

Holloway said: “Murray was absolutely outstanding. I think we have to run away from the ball a bit more as a group.

“That’s a classic goal as Glenn started early knowing where the space was and what a fantastic pass from Jedinak.
“It looks easy but he’s hit three cross-field balls as good as Charlie Adam used to hit them and I don’t think he gets the credit for that.”

Dobbie came off the substitutes’ bench to bend a 25-yard free kick past the helpless Tom Heaton before Parr misguided a header into his own net with seconds to go.

“It was a good job we got the second one because we would have all been devastated. Jonny [Parr] got a shout to head it back to [Julian] Speroni and it was a fantastic finish right in the corner so I am glad we got the second one. On another day we might have won a bit more comfortably,” Holloway said.

Palace will be aiming to record their first away win since the beginning of November when they travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.